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Chapter 19
Standing beside Osborne was a small girl.
She had the same platinum-blond hair as him, though her eyes were a lighter shade of blue.
She was probably Theo’s younger sister—Osborne’s daughter.
“I’ve already disposed of it.”
Theo shrugged as he answered.
“It’s cheap, but getting a maid out of it is better than throwing it away.”
Osborne’s gaze slowly shifted to Luciella.
His eyes were cold and calculating.
The eyes of someone looking down on those beneath him.
As if he were assessing Luciella’s value and deciding her worth.
“So you’re the one.”
He spoke at last.
“The young cook Cain brought here without even asking my permission.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you.”
Luciella bowed her head.
Osborne stared at her for a moment before letting out a small laugh.
A silent laugh.
“Yes. I heard about the wager. If the child Cain brought becomes Theo’s maid in a month…”
He turned his head slightly.
“That would be amusing as well.”
His icy eyes fixed directly on Luciella.
“But if I win, this horse becomes mine.”
“Haha.”
Osborne laughed briefly at her words.
This time he genuinely seemed entertained.
“Theo has ridden horses since he was three years old. His skill as a rider surpasses that of most knights. A horse he couldn’t tame after three years—you think you can?”
“…”
“Very well. I’ll give you one month.”
“Father.”
At that moment, the little girl beside him tugged on his sleeve.
The way she stared at the horse with her large eyes looked almost desperate.
“I like that horse… I wanted to give it a carrot.”
“Quiet. Close your mouth.”
Osborne’s response to his daughter was cold.
“If necessary, I’ll buy you a better horse. Just as your brother said, that horse is broken.”
“But…”
“Come, Isolde.”
The little girl—Isolde—looked back at the horse one last time before following her father with tearful eyes.
Their footsteps gradually faded away.
“Just wait and see.”
Theo smirked.
“When you become my maid, I’ll make sure you never get to see that bastard Bael again.”
Once Theo and Ruben left as well, only Luciella and the horse remained in the courtyard.
She placed a hand on its mane.
Tangling strands of hair caught between her fingers.
Prrrrr.
One month was more than enough.
Of course, Luciella had never learned horseback riding.
Because she had ignored the old stablemaster when he told her she should at least learn that much.
But it didn’t matter.
Because she wasn’t planning to be the horse’s rider anyway.
* * *
“Hey, are you seriously going to keep doing this?”
Luciella folded her arms and glared at the horse.
The horse, apparently unaffected by her stare, leisurely wandered around the front courtyard.
The moment she had released it from the stable, it had begun strolling around contentedly, practically announcing how much it hated being confined.
It liked being allowed to walk.
It reacted when she released a little mana.
When Luciella extended her hand, it would even approach while snorting softly.
The problem was its back.
The moment Luciella took even a single step toward its side, the horse naturally turned away and increased the distance between them.
It wasn’t hostile.
It simply seemed to be saying, Oh my, what are you doing?
With an attitude that neither accepted nor rejected her, it maintained an incredibly stubborn barrier.
And it wouldn’t eat.
It nibbled only tiny amounts of feed and carrots.
If she tried forcing it, it simply turned its head away.
Now she finally understood why such a large horse was so skinny.
What was it that Grandpa said back then…?
“If you lock up a wild horse, it’ll stop eating and eventually die. Without freedom, life loses meaning for them. That’s the kind of heart they’re born with.”
This horse had only survived this long because it was half Graven.
Luciella sighed and leaned against the fence.
To think something would dare refuse food she offered.
In all fourteen years of her life, she’d never experienced such treatment.
Only after remembering how Bael had devoured the honey crepes she’d brought that morning in just two bites did she finally regain her composure.
Wait.
What I give. What others give.
What’s the difference?
Feed is feed, whether I give it or someone else does.
Then what exactly was different…?
“Status Window!”
Luciella suddenly shouted.
The horse flinched and perked up its ears.
A small translucent window popped into existence before her.
“Seriously? You can even tell me what a horse likes to eat?”
The status window flickered briefly before displaying a message.
[Target: Unidentified Star-Soul Horse Hybrid — Preference Analysis Complete]
Preferences:
Items with a lightly charred aroma. Slightly cooked foods rather than fresh grass. Savory and nutty flavors rather than sweetness. Enjoys consuming foods with multiple textures at once.
Special Notes:
Due to wild-horse instincts, artificial flavorings are disliked. Only responds positively to naturally sourced ingredients.
Recommended Menu
① Lightly Roasted Oat Feed
- Toast oats in a dry pan to create a nutty aroma.
- Texture remains similar to raw feed, but the scent changes.
- Stimulates instincts associated with grazing on grass lightly scorched by wildfires.
② Perilla Grass Mixed Hay
- Mix dried perilla grass from the northern mountains of the Empire into hay.
- A plant naturally sought by Star-Soul Horse bloodlines.
- Also helps stabilize mana.
- Verify with a medicinal herb specialist.
③ Dried Apple Slices Soaked in Honey Water
- Dry over low heat until moisture is completely removed.
- Fresh apples may be rejected, but the concentrated sweetness produced during drying may be accepted.
“…This is it.”
Luciella trembled with excitement.
Tap.
The status window disappeared.
When she looked up again, the horse had somehow wandered closer and was nudging the top of her head with its nose.
“You just wait.”
Luciella pressed firmly on its muzzle and flashed a confident smile.
“I’m going to turn you from a horse into a honey-fed pig!”
The moment she returned to the kitchen, Luciella immediately began searching through the pantry.
Finding oats was easy.
She had obtained the perilla grass from Cain only moments earlier.
A large pile of apples sat in one corner of the kitchen.
“Oh? What are we making today?”
Jerome approached eagerly, eyes sparkling.
His hand was already reaching for writing supplies.
Several nearby cooks immediately abandoned their work and gathered around.
Clang.
Instead of answering, Luciella pulled out a heavy cast-iron pan and poured in a generous amount of oats.
Rattle, rattle, rattle.
Her wrist moved quickly and steadily.
The watching cooks couldn’t help admiring the technique.
After roasting the oats continuously for about two minutes, a rich aroma began rising from the pan.
It was rough and natural, similar to the scent of dried grass warming under mountain sunlight.
“That should do it for the oats.”
Luciella grabbed a handful of perilla grass and crushed it roughly between her hands.
A strong fragrance burst from the leaves.
Rustle.
As the oats began turning golden, she extinguished the fire and scattered the perilla grass over the pan.
The horse liked experiencing multiple textures at once.
Luciella fully intended to satisfy that ridiculously picky preference.
“Oats and perilla grass… Are you making some kind of diet food?”
Jerome cautiously spoke while scribbling notes.
“The other day it seemed like Lady Aila and Sir Cain had gained a little weight. Though honestly, they were so thin before that I thought it looked quite healthy…”
“They need to gain even more weight.”
This meal was for an entirely different future pig.
“Ah, I see.”
Jerome nodded despite looking completely confused.
From his observations, Luciella wasn’t capable of cooking and teaching simultaneously.
Whenever he wanted one of her recipes, he had learned to quietly observe and figure it out himself.
“Roast the oats… add perilla grass… and then add… a pile of hay?”
Jerome’s hand froze in midair.
What exactly is she doing?
But Luciella offered no explanation.
She simply tossed a handful of hay into the roasted oats.
Well-aged hay.
The kind with a deeper aroma and less sweetness than fresh hay.
“…”
Jerome and the cooks stared at her as if questioning reality itself.
The smell was wonderful.
The aroma was definitely wonderful.
But…
“Could it be that some new trend is spreading in the Imperial Palace that we don’t know about?”
One of the cooks asked with complete seriousness.
“Something only young people understand…”
Thak-thak-thak-thak-thak!
His voice was drowned out by the rapid sound of Luciella slicing apples.
She cut them into thin, uniform slices and soaked them in honey water made from the finest honey available.
The fact that she was putting this much effort into feeding a single horse was absurd.
But Luciella was the type of person who thrived on challenges.
The determination to see that horse willingly eat her food filled her entire body with energy.
Soak for ten minutes.
Remove.
Pan-dry.
“Ooh, now that looks delicious.”
By the time someone murmured those words and swallowed, the kitchen had become filled with the concentrated aroma of apples mixed with sweet honey.
Luciella gathered the finished apple slices and arranged them beside the roasted oats and perilla hay mixture.
A fragrant, savory scent that quietly stimulated the appetite spread throughout the kitchen.
The cooks rubbed their hands together in anticipation.
“S-So it’s finally time for the tasting—”
But none of them managed to finish their sentence.
With a loud shhhk, every last bit of it disappeared straight into a horse’s feed trough.
And at last, the day of the decisive battle arrived.
